“Everyone expects chefs to be super confident when cooking for their family,” says Mr Chet Sharma, chef-patron of BiBi, a contemporary Indian restaurant in Mayfair, London. “But it’s the most difficult day for any of us. I want to be prepared so I’m not scrambling around in the kitchen. I make a list and plot out every hour from 8.00am on Christmas Eve, including a good break to go to the pub. I’ll have all my vegetables prepped and potatoes parboiled.”

Don’t forget to get your meat to room temperature – a crucial step for even cooking. “Bring it out of the fridge for at least two hours before cooking,” he says.

Mr Paul Ainsworth, chef-patron at Michelin-starred No 6 in Padstow, Cornwall, agrees it’s all in the prep. “Make things such as gravy and stuffing in advance,” he says. “Most households have only one oven and it can be so hectic trying to get it all done.”

“You don’t need three types of potatoes or 15 different dishes,” says Sharma. “The key is to do one and do it really well.”

“Get your meat from small, local independent butchers and buy the best quality you can,” says Mr Josh Katz, chef-patron of Berber & Q and the recently opened Camel in London, who specialises in Middle Eastern and North African-influenced sharing dishes and live-fire cookery.

“I’ll be sourcing my goose from a farm shop near where I live,” says Sharma. “There are online retailers such as The Ethical Butcher and Farmison, which do a brilliant job. As a chef, I want to make my job easy and that starts with sourcing the best produce I can afford.”

“I like to make sure there are lots of bright, wintry colours,” says Katz. “A plate of purple beetroot, pumpkin purée or roasted carrots and ruby red cabbage. Texture is important, too. Try to balance softer vegetables with crispy potatoes.”

Ainsworth also treats veg with as much care as the meat. “For things such as green beans and broccoli, steam with just 3 or 4cm water, butter and seasoning. If you just boil, you’ll lose all the flavour. Hardier veg, such as parsnips, cauliflower and onions, I’d always roast.”

The all-important potatoes? “I like to cook them in goose fat with a bit of mustard powder, crushed garlic and turmeric,” says Ainsworth. “It adds a lovely warmth.” Or try them confit, as in Sharma’s recipe below. “It’s similar to how we do them in the restaurant and is the best way to guarantee a soft, creamy middle with that glassy exterior,” he says.

“This is how I’ll be cooking goose this Christmas. It’s a treat, but it’s such a great bird and doesn’t get used enough. The bitterness and fruitiness from the greens and pear lift everything up.”

Roast goose

Ingredients

1 free-range organic goose (4.5-4kg)

Salt and white pepper, for seasoning

1 garlic bulb, sliced in half

2 carrots, diced

2 onions, diced

2 sticks of celery, diced

1kg chicken wings

2 litres white chicken stock

50g honey

5 sprigs of thyme, picked and chopped

200ml port

50g brandy

100ml madeira

Method

01. Take the legs off the goose (or ask your butcher to do this). Rub a generous pinch of salt and white pepper into one half of the garlic bulb, then rub into the skin side of the goose legs. Leave for 1-2 hours at room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160˚C fan (180˚C non-fan).

02. Layer half carrots, onions and celery in the bottom of a roasting tray, mix with the chicken wings and any other trimmings from the goose. Top with the legs, cover with tin foil and roast for 1 hour (set the crown aside).

03. To make the sauce, take the legs out of the tray and put 2 tbsp goose fat from the tray into a large pan. Add the remaining vegetables to the pan and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and the goose trimmings and chicken legs to the pan along with the white chicken stock, or water. Leave to simmer for at least 2 hours.

04. Meanwhile, turn the oven up to 230˚C (250˚C non-fan). Score and season the goose crown with salt. Place the legs on the base of a clean roasting tray. Top with the goose crown and place in the oven. Roast for 25 minutes, or until a meat probe placed in the thickest part registers more than 50˚C and the skin is nicely rendered.

05. Remove the goose crown, brush with honey and season again with salt, white pepper and thyme. Place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Remove the crown and legs from the oven and leave to rest on a plate, covered in foil, for 1 hour.

06. To finish the sauce, strain the goose fat from the tray and pour in the port, brandy and madeira to deglaze the tray over a medium heat on the hob. Strain the goose stock from the pan, add the contents of the deglazed tray, and cook down until you have a thick, glossy gravy. Season to taste.

Chestnut and pear greens

Ingredients

1 tsp mustard oil

50g smoked bacon, cut into lardons

200g peeled chestnuts

400g seasonal greens, such as sprout tops, chard or cavolo nero, washed and sliced

100ml white chicken stock

1 Asian (nashi) pear, diced

Salt

Half a lemon (optional)

Method

01. Heat the mustard oil until smoking hot. Leave to cool down. This removes the really intense and harsh flavour raw mustard oil can have.

02. Add the smoked bacon to the pan and return to a low heat to render out the fat.

03. Add the chestnuts and turn up the heat to medium-high so they sizzle and colour a little.

04. Add the greens and the chicken stock. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until tender. Add the pear and season with salt and a squeeze of lemon to taste.

Perfect roast potatoes

Ingredients

500g goose fat

1kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into big pieces and washed in cold water for 5 minutes

5 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of sage

1 sprig of rosemary

2 bay leaves

2 tsp white peppercorns

1 garlic bulb, split in half

Fine sea salt

Method

01. Mix together all the ingredients, except the salt, in a large saucepan. Slowly bring the fat up to a low simmer for 15 minutes. Test a potato with a fork – it should hold its shape, but be tender and cooked through. Remove from the heat and leave the potatoes to cool in the fat. Strain.

02. Preheat the oven to 230˚C fan (250˚C non-fan) and place a heavy baking tray inside to preheat for at least 15-20 minutes. Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 200˚C (220˚C non-fan), toss the potatoes around and then roast for a further 15-20 minutes.

03. When the potatoes come out of the oven, generously season with fine sea salt, then serve immediately while glassy and crisp.

Salt and pepper slow-cooked honey-roast duck

Ingredients

1 duck (2kg)

Duck fat or vegetable oil

1 tbsp flaky sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling on the bread

1 tsp freshly crushed white peppercorns

6 heaped tbsp clear honey

1 orange

1 lemon

1 bunch of fresh thyme, picked

15g toasted black and white sesame seeds

1 star anise

1 cucumber

1 sourdough loaf

Olive oil

1 bunch of fresh breakfast radishes, thinly sliced

1 bunch of spring onions

1 small jar of hoisin dipping sauce

Method

**01. **Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan (200˚C non-fan). Lightly score the duck breast with a sharp knife to help the fat render down when cooking. Very lightly brush the duck all over with some melted duck fat or vegetable oil and then season all over with the salt and pepper, pushing the seasoning into the incisions. Pour the honey all over the duck making sure it’s completely covered. Squeeze over the lemon and orange juice and scatter in the thyme, sesame seeds and star anise. Roast for 30 minutes.

**02. **After 30 minutes, baste the duck with the honey and rendered duck fat that has collected in the roasting tray. Leave to slow roast for a further 30 minutes, then remove the duck from the roasting tray and pour off the fat, leaving the honey behind.

**03. **Put the duck back into the roasting tray and baste all over with the honey residue and return to the oven. Roast for another hour, basting every 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour off any excess fat, keeping the honey.

**04. **Roast for a final 30 minutes, basting every 5-10 minutes, so the honey is thick and glossy. Remove from the oven and rest for 15 minutes.

**05. **Slice the sourdough and grill with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt. Put the cucumber, radishes, spring onion and hoisin sauce in separate dishes, so everyone can get stuck in.

One-pot whole roast cabbage with chestnut and bacon dressing

“I love this dish. If you make it, you’ll think, ‘I can’t believe I’ve just done that with a cabbage.’ It’s a hybrid between steaming and roasting the cabbage and is all about making the vegetable the star.”

Ingredients

Olive oil

100g butter

1 savoy cabbage

Sea salt and fresh white pepper

A few pinches of cumin

1 sprig of thyme, picked

1 sprig of rosemary, picked

1 bay leaf

200g white chicken stock

For the dressing

250g smoked bacon lardons (buy a whole piece and cut into lardons yourself)

1 pack or tin of chestnuts, chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp cider vinegar

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly milled white pepper

25g parsley, freshly chopped

25g chives, freshly chopped

Method

01. Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan (180˚C non-fan). Warm a good splash of olive oil over a medium heat in a thick-bottomed lidded casserole, then add the butter and heat until foaming. Massage olive oil all over the cabbage, then season with salt, pepper and cumin. Place in the casserole with the herbs and heat on all sides, until nutty brown.

02. Drain off most of the butter and add the chicken stock. Place a lid on the pot and transfer to the oven and cook for 45 minutes, or until you can put a small knife through the cabbage like butter.

03. To make the dressing, add the bacon to a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry until crispy, then add the chestnuts. Fry until golden then drain onto kitchen paper.

04. Whisk together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl with the herbs and seasoning.

05. Cut the braised cabbage into quarters and spoon the bacon and chestnut dressing all over.

“Lamb is always my go-to for a proper blow-out banquet. The natural sweetness of beetroot works particularly well alongside, as does creamy, salty whipped feta.”

Slow-cooked lamb

Ingredients

10g ground coriander

5g ground cumin

5g sweet paprika

2.5g turmeric

2.5g garlic powder

80g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature,

1 tbsp finely chopped lemon thyme

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Honey

1 shoulder of lamb (2-2.5kg)

50ml olive oil

Flaked sea salt and coarse black pepper

To serve

50g coarse sea salt mixed with 50g ground cumin

400g harissa paste (store-bought, preferably Belazu)

Flatbreads or a crusty loaf

Method

01. Combine the ground coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric and garlic powder in a bowl and mix well.

02. Blend the butter with the thyme, garlic, honey and half the spice mix in a food processor until a rough paste has formed and set aside until required.

03. Make several slashes at random intervals across the shoulder of lamb, rub with olive oil on both sides and season generously with flaked sea salt and coarse black pepper. Dust the shoulder with the remaining spice mix, making sure it’s completely covered. Place on a baking tray, covered with foil.

04. Preheat the oven to 150˚C fan (170˚C non-fan). Slow roast the lamb for 4-5 hours, brushing the shoulder intermittently with the spiced butter, until the meat easily pulls away from the bone and an internal temperature of 88-89˚C is recorded when probed with a thermometer.

05. Once the lamb is cooked, set aside to rest for 20 minutes before pulling into large chunks. Serve piping hot with the cumin salt and harissa for dipping the lamb into, along with flatbreads or a crusty loaf of bread for mopping it all up.

Salt-baked beets with whipped feta and walnuts

Ingredients

150g feta

100g Greek yoghurt

½ tsp Dijon mustard

Up to 2kg coarse sea salt

8-10 beetroots, scrubbed

3 sprigs of rosemary

3 sprigs of thyme

6 garlic cloves

2 tbsp date syrup

75ml sherry vinegar

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Pinch of cinnamon

50ml olive oil

2 tbsp mint, finely chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

To serve

80g walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

2 spring onions, finely sliced

A small handful of picked dill fronds

Zest of 2 lemons, julienned

A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method

01. To make the whipped feta, soak the feta in water for 15 minutes to remove any excess salt, then process in a blender until smooth. Add the Greek yoghurt and mustard and pulse until combined.

02. Layer the bottom of a heavy-based ovenproof casserole or saucepan with salt and place the beetroots on top, regularly spaced from one another so that they aren’t touching, but tightly fitted to reduce the amount of salt you will need to use. Add the herbs and garlic cloves and sprinkle the rest of the salt on top of the beetroot so they are almost covered.

03. Preheat the oven to x180˚C fan (200˚C non-fan). Roast the beetroot until slightly shrivelled and completely tender, about 45-55 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle, then peel and cut into wedges.

04. For the dressing, combine the date syrup, sherry vinegar, pomegranate molasses and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Stir through the chopped mint and dress the beetroot in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

05. Serve the marinated beets on top of the whipped feta. Garnish with toasted walnuts, sliced spring onion, picked dill fronds, the strips of lemon zest and a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Poor man’s roast potatoes

“These might sound cheap, but they’re so addictive and will always be finished off.”

Ingredients

1.2kg roasting potatoes (such as King Edwards or desiree), peeled, halved and washed

180ml sunflower oil

1 large red pepper, cut into large dice

1 large green pepper, cut into large dice

2 small red onions, each cut into eighths

8-10 garlic cloves, skin on, smashed

2 tbsp smoked paprika

3 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

Salt and black pepper

Method

01. Preheat an oven to 180˚C fan (200˚C non-fan). Place the potatoes in a pan of salted water, bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until just tender when pierced with a knife, but still holding their shape, about 10-12 minutes. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan and with the lid on give the pan a shake to roughen the edges of the potatoes. This will help with the take-up of oil and create the golden crust we’re looking for.

02. Warm the oil in a heavy-based ovenproof frying pan over a high heat, then carefully lower each potato into the oil. Shallow fry the potatoes, turning on all sides, until golden brown all over and crispy. Add the peppers, onion and garlic to the pan and sprinkle the potatoes with the paprika and thyme leaves. Season with salt and black pepper and transfer to the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes, tossing the potatoes occasionally, until they are crunchy and golden and the vegetables are cooked through. Serve immediately, piping hot, lifted from the oil with a slotted spoon.